Unlawful Entry (film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Unlawful Entry is a 1992 American psychological thriller film directed by Jonathan Kaplan and starring Kurt Russell, Madeleine Stowe, and Ray Liotta.
Plot
Michael and Karen Carr (Kurt Russell and Madeleine Stowe) are a couple living in an upscale part of Los Angeles. One night, an intruder enters their home through their skylight, upsetting their tranquility. The intruder briefly takes Karen as a hostage, before dumping her in the swimming pool and escaping.
The Carrs call the police, one of whom, Pete Davis (Ray Liotta), takes extra interest in the couple's case. He cuts through department red tape and quickly installs a security system in the Carrs' house.
When Michael expresses an interest in getting revenge on the intruder, Pete invites him on a ride-along with his partner, Roy Cole (Roger E. Mosley). After dropping Cole off, Pete takes Michael out to arrest the man who broke into the Carrs' house, offering Michael a chance to take some revenge using Pete's nightstick. Michael declines, but Pete viciously beats the intruder, leaving Michael deeply suspicious of Pete's mental stability. He suggests that Pete get some professional help and, especially, stay far away from him and Karen in the future.
Rejecting both suggestions, Pete instead begins to stalk the couple, particularly Karen, with whom he's obsessed. Pete even appears in the couple's bedroom one night while Karen is riding Michael in the cowgirl position, but insists he's just there to "check that everything's okay".
When Michael files a complaint against Pete's unwanted attentions, Pete uses his police connections to destroy Michael's business reputation. Encountering bemused apathy from Pete's superiors in the LAPD, Michael turns to Cole, who orders his partner to cease his obsessing, see a shrink or face suspension. Pete then murders Cole, blaming it on a known criminal. Pete then frames Michael on drug charges by planting a supply of cocaine in the Carrs' house, enabling him to move in on Karen. Jeopardizing his attorney's finances, Michael gets out on bail and takes matters into his own hands.
Back at the Carr house, after finding that he has brutally murdered her friend, Karen rejects Pete, and Karen's rejection, plus her making an attempt to shoot him with Pete's gun, causes Pete to go berserk, dismissing her as worthless and attempting to rape her. Michael returns home and an enraged Pete attacks him and Karen, attempting to kill them both. Pete and Michael fight, during which Pete accidentally causes the police to start heading over to the house after attempting to answer a phone call while acting as Michael. Pete holds Michael at gunpoint outside of their bathroom where Karen is, and Pete demands that Karen open the door and escape with him or he'll kill Michael, while Michael begs Karen not to, saying Pete will kill him anyway. Karen ultimately bursts out of the room and uses an ornament to strike Pete in the face, allowing Michael to gain the upper hand, punching Pete and knocking him down the stairs.
As Karen and Michael, who has Pete's now-loaded gun, wait for the police to arrive, Pete regains consciousness as Michael holds him at gunpoint. Pete tauntingly asks Michael if he'll arrest him as a citizen, unknowingly asking the same question Michael asked him in an earlier confrontation, which Pete answered that he would rather kill Michael instead of arrest him. To Pete's shock, Michael chooses to shoot him, ultimately killing Pete. A relieved Michael and Karen then go outside and watch as the police arrive at the scene.
